Group items tagged

The review of South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company's two new units appears to be on again. Company officials met with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to discuss revisions to the application for the addition of STP units 3 and 4 in Matagorda County.

As CPS Energy continues to present its case to the public for spending billions of dollars on two nuclear reactors, community groups opposed to the plan are banding together to make their own case. A new organization, calling itself Energia Mia, is holding a press conference today before one of CPS Energy's neighborhood meetings that were set up for the utility to answer questions about its plan to partner in the expansion of the nuclear South Texas Project outside of Bay City. "We have noticed that there are a lot of groups in San Antonio that have different reasons for opposing nuclear energy, but all have come to the conclusion that it is not in our best interest," said Cindy Weehler of the Consumers' Energy Coalition and one of Energia Mia's organizers. "We decided that we are going to have a venue or a forum. CPS is going out and educating the community on their side of the issue. We would like to educate people to our side of the issue."

"CPS Energy ended a two-month legal battle with its corporate partner in the proposed South Texas Project nuclear expansion with a settlement Wednesday that allows the utility to immediately stop making payments on the project while retaining a small share. The partner, Nuclear Innovation North America, also agreed to pay CPS $80 million and contribute $10 million in assistance for low-income local residents to pay power bills. The deal, which CPS Energy said is worth $1 billion total, means the utility will retain 7.625 percent of the project to build two more reactors near Bay City."

"The judge overseeing CPS Energy's nuclear lawsuit frustrated lawyers for Nuclear Innovation North America on Wednesday as they tried to introduce evidence they said would show that utility executives knew they'd lose their investment if they withdrew from an expansion of the South Texas Project nuclear plant. State District Judge Larry Noll denied attorneys for NINA and parent company NRG Energy the ability to offer anything outside the actual language of the contracts to be submitted. CPS attorney Ricardo Cedillo wants Noll to rule that the utility has the right to withdraw from the project and that it will have no further financial obligations if it does - but would continue to own and control a 50 percent interest as a "tenant in common" with NINA."

"Nuclear Innovation North America looked to score a quick knockout Monday as the massive nuclear lawsuit filed by CPS Energy got under way. 408th District Court Judge Larry Noll was expected to announce Tuesday whether the tactic worked. NINA, which is being sued by CPS over the teetering proposal to build two more reactors at the South Texas Project, asked Noll for a summary judgment, a move that would give NINA a victory in the first phase of the case. NINA, which is a partnership between NRG Energy and Toshiba, contends that CPS should lose the roughly $350 million it has invested in the project and its ownership rights if it withdraws. Its attorneys argued an abbreviated version of the case Monday. "It is pretty clear that NRG is intent on trying to convince a judge that our customers should lose all of their investment," said CPS acting General Manager Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley, adding that she still holds out hope for a settlement. CPS is suing NINA for $32 billion, claiming the company pulled CPS into the deal by making fraudulent claims and then orchestrated a misinformation campaign through the media to force CPS out."

"Documents show a former general manager of San Antonio-owned CPS Energy is getting about $390,000 in his settlement with the utility. Steve Bartley resigned Nov. 25 during the investigation into why higher-than-expected nuclear cost estimates to expand the South Texas Project were kept from the CPS board. The San Antonio Express News reported details Thursday based on documents obtained under a public records request. The newspaper reports Bartley will receive 15 months of base salary. He also will get credit for about 21 extra months of service to quality for an early pension and health coverage."

"The air blowing overhead in the brightly lit courtroom made it hard to hear at times. Overhead projectors illuminated PowerPoint presentations on both sides of the room up front. There were microphones and laptops, too, some plugged into outlets along the walls. And yet, with all the electricity thrumming through, nothing burned up CPS ratepayer dollars faster than the dozen-plus lawyers squabbling over the tattered relationship between CPS Energy and NRG Energy Inc., its co-owner in the floundering attempt to build two new nuclear plants at the South Texas Project. Relationships being what they are, the most consistent comparison made since the dispute broke into the open late last year has been divorce. It seemed too easy at first, but then on Monday, Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley, the new interim general manager at CPS, wondered why my colleague, Anton Caputo, and I sat on the NRG side of the courtroom."

A vote on the plan to reduce San Antonio's share in the nuclear project will be postponed at least a week. CPS Energy's board had been expected to vote Monday on a proposal pushed by Mayor Julián Castro to decrease its stake in the expansion of the nuclear South Texas Project to 20 percent to 25 percent, meaning it would have to sell about of half its current ownership. But any public discussion and decision on nuclear by the utility's board has been postponed tentatively until Oct. 13. "This decision is much too important to rush," Castro said via e-mail. "By moving board consideration back a week, we will give the CPS board, the City Council and, most importantly, the public additional time to hear from CPS Energy on this critical issue." The delay comes a day after Castro halted a closed-door meeting between the City Council and CPS Energy to discuss nuclear because of a challenge from the San Antonio Express-News.

A vote on the plan to reduce San Antonio's share in the nuclear project will be postponed at least a week. CPS Energy's board had been expected to vote Monday on a proposal pushed by Mayor Julián Castro to decrease its stake in the expansion of the nuclear South Texas Project to 20 percent to 25 percent, meaning it would have to sell about of half its current ownership. But any public discussion and decision on nuclear by the utility's board has been postponed tentatively until Oct. 13. "This decision is much too important to rush," Castro said via e-mail. "By moving board consideration back a week, we will give the CPS board, the City Council and, most importantly, the public additional time to hear from CPS Energy on this critical issue." The delay comes a day after Castro halted a closed-door meeting between the City Council and CPS Energy to discuss nuclear because of a challenge from the San Antonio Express-News.

Craig Severance, CPA Author, Business Risks & Costs of New Nuclear Power Dr. Arjun Makhijani President, Institute for Energy & Environmental Research Perform an in depth analysis of the financial risks that San Antonio faces with the proposed expansion of the south texas nuclear project and discuss other alternatives that the city should be considering.

Craig Severance, CPA Author, Business Risks & Costs of New Nuclear Power Dr. Arjun Makhijani President, Institute for Energy & Environmental Research Perform an in depth analysis of the financial risks that San Antonio faces with the proposed expansion of the south texas nuclear project and discuss other alternatives that the city should be considering.

Groups from Maryland Ally with 3 other States with Reactors Up for Loan Guarantees to Speak Out in Opposition; DOE Liberalization of Rules Would Expose Taxpayers to Billions of Dollars in New Defaults Taxpayers will be put at significant new risk for billions of dollars if the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) moves ahead in the coming days and weeks to issue its first set of controversial taxpayer-backed, conditional loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, according to 18 national and state-level public interest groups from Maryland, Georgia, Texas and South Carolina. In a joint statement issued today, the groups called on DOE to put the issuance of loan guarantees on hold given the unacceptable financial risks placed on the taxpayer, the poor track record of the DOE with past loan guarantees and the lack of transparency in the loan guarantee decision-making process.

Groups from Maryland Ally with 3 other States with Reactors Up for Loan Guarantees to Speak Out in Opposition; DOE Liberalization of Rules Would Expose Taxpayers to Billions of Dollars in New Defaults Taxpayers will be put at significant new risk for billions of dollars if the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) moves ahead in the coming days and weeks to issue its first set of controversial taxpayer-backed, conditional loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors, according to 18 national and state-level public interest groups from Maryland, Georgia, Texas and South Carolina. In a joint statement issued today, the groups called on DOE to put the issuance of loan guarantees on hold given the unacceptable financial risks placed on the taxpayer, the poor track record of the DOE with past loan guarantees and the lack of transparency in the loan guarantee decision-making process.

Mayor Julian Castro City of San Antonio,Steve Bartley Interim General Manager, CPS Energy,Craig Severance, CPA Author, Business Risks & Costs of New Nuclear Power,Dr. Patrick Moore Co-Chair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, Dr. Arjun Makhijani President, Institute for Energy & Environmental Research At the San Antonio Clean Tech Forum noted pundits square off and discuss the San Antonio's involvement in the proposed expansion of the South Texas Nuclear project.

Mayor Julian Castro City of San Antonio,Steve Bartley Interim General Manager, CPS Energy,Craig Severance, CPA Author, Business Risks & Costs of New Nuclear Power,Dr. Patrick Moore Co-Chair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, Dr. Arjun Makhijani President, Institute for Energy & Environmental Research At the San Antonio Clean Tech Forum noted pundits square off and discuss the San Antonio's involvement in the proposed expansion of the South Texas Nuclear project.

The Department of Energy has narrowed the list of proposed new nuclear power plants it is considering for $18.5 billion in federal loan guarantees down to four from five, a spokeswoman said. "We have proceeded to due diligence with four applications for nuclear loan guarantees that are farthest along in the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] application process," the spokeswoman said. "We have not made any final decisions and have not eliminated any of the applicants." New reactors at Southern Co.'s (SO) Vogtle plant in Georgia, Scana Corp.'s ( SCG) Summer plant in South Carolina, Constellation Energy Group's (CEG) Calvert Cliffs plant in Maryland and NRG Energy Inc.'s (NRG) South Texas plant are among the projects still in the running for federal loan backing. Under the loan guarantee program, the government promises to assume the companies' debt obligations if they default on loans for the nuclear projects.

Japan's Toshiba Corp. said Wednesday it had won a contract to build two nuclear plants in the United States that are scheduled to start generating power in 2016. It is the first such contract a Japanese company has won overseas, covering the projects entirely from engineering and procurement to construction of the nuclear plants, the company said. Under the contract, Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corp., a US-based Toshiba subsidiary, will build two Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) nuclear power plants in Texas.

The South Texas Project nuclear power plant in Matagorda County, which is located about 8 miles southwest of Wadsworth, wants to double its size to four reactors. Matagorda County nuclear power plant plans to expand October 13, 2008 View larger E-mail Clip More Video Inside the containment chamber at the plant, the core of Unit #2 is comprised of 193 bundles of fuel roads - each rod holding more than 300 uranium pellets. Every 18 months, a third of the bundles are removed and replaced as part of the refueling process.

In February, hundreds of government regulators and businesspeople gathered in Phoenix for "Waste Management '08," the annual radioactive waste industry confab. Amid the swag and schmoozing, industry insiders appraised the state of their business. The good news: The nuclear industry appears to be rebounding in the United States, providing potentially huge new radioactive waste streams as planned reactors come online. The bad news: The number of landfills for burying low-level radioactive waste is dwindling. One of the oldest sites, in Barnwell, South Carolina, will close to all but a handful of states on July 1. That will leave 36 states, including Texas, with no place to send the radioactive waste generated by their nuclear power plants, universities, hospitals, and companies.

"Two goose hunters inadvertently caused a security lock down in Texas at the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant. Carson County Sheriff Tam Terry said plant employees on their way to work Friday saw two people in green camouflage carrying rifles about two miles south of the Pantex plant near Amarillo. The employees notified plant officials, who called Terry's office and asked for an investigation. Pantex officials then closed the plant for a couple hours."

"Prepare to meet thy God," reads the small black-and-white sign in the yard at the end of this dusty county road in Karnes County. I'm looking for a string of open-pit uranium mines, now filled with water, where some locals fish, swim, and practice their water skiing. A San Antonio mechanic and Karnes County resident lost his 30-some acre lake (and former uranium mine) last year when the Texas Railroad Commission pumped out more than 122 million gallons, transferred about 70 foot-long big mouth bass to a nearby stock tank, and left him with a dry graded pit.

One Coastal Bend county is contesting plans for a new uranium mine. Today, a court hearing was held in Goliad county for residents to voice their opinions. The Coastal Bend is the second biggest area in the nation for uranium mining. This is the first time a Coastal Bend county is challenging a permit application. This 1100 acres of land in Goliad County is the latest battleground over uranium mining. County leaders are challenging the Texas Commission on Environment Quality over its initial decision to approve a permit for Uranium Energy Corporation to mine here. The county is concerned about the future of ground water in the area.

"-- NRG Energy Inc. expects to learn in about two months whether it will get a federal loan guarantee needed to build nuclear reactors in Texas, and will scrap the project if it doesn't. NRG will try to sell some of its share in the project if it receives loan-guarantee approval from the U.S. Energy Department, Chief Executive Officer David W. Crane said today in an interview. The company, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is seeking to build two reactors at an existing plant site about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Houston. "We would like, during the course of 2010, to bring in other investors who not only have a financial interest in the project but who play a critical role in the project's success," Crane said. "It could be other people involved in the construction of the project, it could be people involved in buying the power from the project." "

"The latest task of the state Senate Business and Commerce Committee provides a welcome opportunity for Texas to rein in rogue utilities like CPS Energy of San Antonio. Now charged with studying the costs of municipally owned utilities' generation plans and their impacts on residential and commercial customers, the Senate committee has the opportunity to protect Texans, especially low-income families, from the machinations of a utility bent on pleasing its industrial consumers at the cost of its most vulnerable customers. CPS Energy is pursuing a risky investment in a nuclear expansion project that, depending on the final cost of the project, would raise rates between 36 percent and 60 percent over the next 10 years. The municipally owned utility has failed to adequately involve the citizenry and city government in its generation planning process. CPS Energy's nuclear energy plan lacks any mechanism to protect consumers or low-income families, despite the fact that those customers would have to pick up the tab if the deal gets more expensive."